Specifications:The large angle of view (122 degrees super wide angle of view at 12mm along the diagonal axis) is ideal for shootings indoor as well as landscape photography. It has a variable angle of view from 122 degrees at 84.1 degrees. Four Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass elements are provided for effective compensation of color aberration, which is a common problem with super-wide angle lenses. Two pieces of Glass Mold and one-piece hybrid aspherical lenses offer excellent correction for distortion as well as all types of aberration. By effective arrangement of lens elements and advanced technology this lens has Super Compact dimensions of 3.9 inches full-length, and 3.4 inches maximum diameter.

It is equipped with Inner focusing system that will keep the length of the lens unchanged while controlling aberration. The models, which are equipped with HSM (Hyper Sonic Motor, available for Sigma, Canon and Nikon camera mount lens) system offer Full Time Manual Focusing. It has a minimum focusing distance of 11 inches (28cm) at all focal lengths. This lens is equipped with an integral Petal-type hood to block out extraneous light.

When you're using a crop Camera (in my case a 20D) a 24-70 lens is no langer wide angle, so I had the choice of 17-40L, EF-S 10-22 and the Sigma 12-24.
The 17-40L would have given me just 7mm over my 24-70L. The 10-22 is EF-S so I would'nt be able to use it with a full size SLR or DSLR.
I've had a Sigma Lens before (24-70 2.8 DF DG) and it was not what you would call a perfect Experience: Soft @2.8, Slow AF.
F4.5-5.6 is not the real deal (f4.5 only available @12mm), but the lens is quite nice. IMO the Filter Design is pure Crap and the only Reason for the 4/5, otherwise it would have been 5/5

Dec 14, 2004

MichaDOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Nov 29, 2004Location: GermanyPosts: 409

Review Date: Nov 30, 2004

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $730.00
| Rating: 10

Pros:

WIDE WIDE WIDE, lack of distortion

Cons:

only rear mount filters, flare (but what ultra wide doesn't?)

If you need to go wide on a 10D this is basically your only option. I don't mind the slow aperture at these focal lengths. Need to watch out for flare a bit as usual for ultra wides but it's well controlled. AF is decent but sometimes misses the point. Amazing low distortion. Rest of image quality is good although not spectacular. Does it really need to be a zoom? A prime might have been cheaper or better quality.

Nov 30, 2004

FundyOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Feb 18, 2004Location: United StatesPosts: 820

Review Date: Oct 30, 2004

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10

Pros:

Wide baby. Pretty dang sharp. Super rectalinear. No bowing here.

Cons:

Bulbous and slow aperture, constant f/4 would be better

Mine seems to be a good sample. It looks like there is some variation, test your lens before you buy it, or be able to return it if it sucks.

Oct 30, 2004

BrufordOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jun 21, 2004Location: CanadaPosts: 88

Review Date: Oct 28, 2004

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $900.00
| Rating: 10

Pros:

This is a great lens!! Works great with my 10D's 1.6 X factor. Sharp and clear. Nice finish on lens and the build quality is great. Well worth the $$

Cons:

Can not mount filter to lens. Other than that no problem.

I highly recomend this lens. It is a great value!!

Oct 28, 2004

LunatiqueOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jul 10, 2003Location: United StatesPosts: 931

Review Date: Oct 24, 2004

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 6

Pros:

It sure is wide! Feels quite sturdy.

Cons:

Stupid rear filter design. All my other lenses are sharper.

If you want wide, this will give you wide. In fact, for those that shoot the Canon 1 series, your only choice for ultrawide zoom is this one. I don't use this lens very often, because it's rare for me to need to shoot that wide, but when I need to get an entire room into a shot, or need anything wider than the 28mm end of my Tamron 28-75 DI, my only choice is this Sigma.

The build is quite sturdy. No complaints there.

The image quality is middle of the road--nothing to write home to mom about, but not a dog either. The distortion isn't bad at all, unless you have people at the edge of your shot--then you'll notice the horizontal stretch--but that's just how ultrawide lenses are--you can't get around it.

sharper than anything i know in this wide angle range.
wait - i don't really now anything comparable to this lens. a few years ago this lens would have been beyond dreams.
it's a little heavy, but gives the 10D w/ BiG ED3 a nice balance.

the front lens is very sensitive to dust. can be a problem you not only buy it for looking at it (which is very nice though), but take it with you to the nasty world outside. well, be a little careful and this lovely lens will definitely broaden your artistic spectrum.

this lens is worth every cent - and every ounce: as my 100-400L, i bought this lens by weight: every gram a euro

have fun,
bernhard peball

Oct 7, 2004

SouthFlaOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Mar 15, 2004Location: United StatesPosts: 697

Review Date: Sep 23, 2004

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10

Pros:

Well built, not too heavy, sharp, WIDE, great on a MKII!

Cons:

None, yet!

I couldn't be happier with this lens. I like this lens so much that this is actually the only time I have wanted to post a review. Perhaps I just got lucky with a "good" copy, but regardless this lens is wonderful.

I made an even trade for the lens with my 17-40L, so I was a little concerned if I had made a mistake. But after two days of shooting with it, I couldn't be more pleased.

Shooting on a 1dMKII, there is virtually no barrel distortion, the lens is sharp throughtout the range and frame, the CA is virtually non-exsitent. I really love doing landscape work, and I already can't imagine how I lived so long without it.

It was tuff giving up the "L" glass, but I'd do it again in a flash. The Sigma now perfectly compliments my 24-70L, 70-200ISL, and 100-400L.

Sep 23, 2004

njezzoOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Apr 16, 2004Location: AustraliaPosts: 23

Review Date: Sep 22, 2004

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10

Pros:

Wild 12mm, Great Contrast, Photoshop USM Friendly, and it's HSM

Cons:

No Filter..barrel distortion

I've been having this lens since last May and am still in love with it.
I reckon this is a must have lens for any landscape photographer outhere.

Wide angle that will work with 1.6, 1.3 and FF bodies; Excellent Sigma glass

Cons:

Gel filters; 82mm filter size; big; sharpness on some copies; Distortion when not parrallel to the ground (as with any WA).

All in all an excellent lens if you need a real wide angle on a full frame, or just a wide lens on the 1.6 crop factor bodies. However, if you don't fully need that 12mm, the 17-40 4L is a much better and more consistent lens for the money.

Sep 19, 2004

chechuprismaOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jul 5, 2004Location: SpainPosts: 2

Review Date: Aug 18, 2004

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $672.00
| Rating: 10

Pros:

contrast, sharpness, high focusing speed

Cons:

weight, canīt add front filter in you donīt make an attachement

It is a really fantastic zoom. I use it at architectuauarl and lifestyle pics and is amazing. If you use it on 1.6x crop dslr, you can put the black ring on the petal hood without vignetting.

Aug 18, 2004

RikWriterOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jun 22, 2004Location: United StatesPosts: 2595

Review Date: Jul 25, 2004

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $700.00
| Rating: 10

Pros:

Incredible wide angle, great sharpness in good light, good durability.

Cons:

No way to use a screw-on filter, shadows with built-in flash.

I was considering this product and the Canon 17-40L and tried them both beforehand, but I simply didn't notice any sharpness difference in the sample pics and the difference in the field of view between 12 and 17mm was dramatic. This lens is perfect for landscapes, which is what I bought it for, and is wonderfully sharp, especially in good lighting.

Giving you 12mm-wide focus it is practically a prime with nice and solid look and feel. Despite of some cons I regard it as a must heave lens to accompany any digital SLR.

Jun 18, 2004

HenriOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: May 25, 2004Location: SwitzerlandPosts: 1

Review Date: May 25, 2004

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10

Pros:

Widest angles available, good to excellent optical quality and very low distortion for this kind of wide-angle-zoom

Cons:

Huge bulky construction, filter-system tricky

I have excellent results with the new Kodak DCS Pro SLR/n. Every wide-angle-construction of this type needs to be stopped down to at least f8-11 for critical works. Great lens for landscape, architecture and nature.
If used on D1x (or similiar) great wide-angle-value, equivalent to Nikon 12-24 at lower price.

May 25, 2004

Daniel BuckOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jan 12, 2004Location: United StatesPosts: 3457

Review Date: May 10, 2004

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $645.00
| Rating: 6

Pros:

solid construction, great feeling controlls good performance at F16, not much distortion

Cons:

not very sharp anywhere near wide open, a bit tricky to use

I use this lens pretty much as a 12mm prime, I hardly ever touch the zoom ring. I also shoot almost exclusively at F11 - F16. F16 seems to be the sharpest stop. The lens was a bit larger than I expected, it doesn't fit in my camer bag (it comes with it's own bag though). The pictures on-line make the lens look small (even when it's mounted on a camera)

Positive: I love the construction, it's a very solid feeling lens, and a joy to shoot with! very little distortion for how wide it is, it seems to handle flares pretty good.
I expected MUCH more distortion, there is relativly little! Being so wide (at 12mm), You can hand-hold quite show shutter speeds, 1/20th and maybe even slower.

Negative: It's not very sharp below F8. F16 seems to be the sharp stop, which makes it only real good for sunny outdoors shots. though, it's still decent at other stops, just not very sharp.

It takes a bit of getting used to. It doesn't seem to auto focus on anything further than about 4 feet So, shooting objects far away, I shoot at F16, I just manual focus to 2 meters - infinity, and that seems to work very nice. Auto focusing seems to be quite slow, but quiet.

Overall: I'm very happy with the construction, very solid! I'd give this lens a higher rating, but it will see somewhat limited use due to the lack of shapness from wide open to about F8. But that said, this is the only lens I have found that suits my wide angle needs. So, I'm happy with it! it's a keeper :-)

May 10, 2004

ProtegeOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Sep 25, 2003Location: CanadaPosts: 276

Review Date: May 8, 2004

Recommend? no |
Price paid: $1,000.00
| Rating: 6

Pros:

Wide angle capability. Nice case.

Cons:

It's a zoom - Sigma should have just focused on making it a wide prime. Bad design on the filter mount. Sub-par finish feel for a pro lens. Front element moves when zooming. Uber slow AF speed. Mediocre image quality.

Camera: Canon EOS 10D
Primary Use: Wide Landscape Photography

This lens could use some improvements. If you're really looking for the widest possible rectilinear lens, then this is your answer. I really see no point in making this a zoom. The lens could possibly benefit from it by just being a single-focal 12mm.

Image quality: 3/5 (It's decent, but not mind blowing. Be careful of lens flare. Vignetting occurs when using the filter mount. Barrel distortion, but I actually like that).